


Quarantine in Katolis

by bluechild



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Jelly Tarts, a little angst but not really, movie binging, quarantine fic, rayla hates quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26477938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluechild/pseuds/bluechild
Summary: Why did we have to be in Katolis that one weekend?An outbreak of a new disease - a dangerous and extremely contagious one - had started in a distant human kingdom, in a small town. No one had thought much of it, until it had spread to the surrounding cities and quickly gained thousands of infections.Ezran persuaded me and Callum that it wouldn’t be too bad, that we wouldn’t be stuck in Katolis if we stayed our last day.Well, he was wrong.And now... I’m stuck with Callum, Ez, Sarai and Harrow for 6 weeks.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 47





	Quarantine in Katolis

**Author's Note:**

> This isn’t really canon to my other modern au story, it’s just a little side fic inspired by the lovely virus 2020 dropped on us.  
> 2020\. truly, the gift that keeps on giving.

Why did we have to be in Katolis that _one_ _weekend_?

An outbreak of a new disease - a dangerous and extremely contagious one - had started in a distant human kingdom, in a small town. No one had thought much of it, until it had spread to the surrounding cities and quickly gained thousands of infections. 

Borders were closed, trades had halted, and flights delayed. But even that couldn’t stop the virus from popping up in places all over the continent. Before long, Xadia had closed itself off from the human lands - with no exceptions. Xadians who were stuck in the human kingdoms were given money to keep them afloat while cut off from their families - me included. But we weren’t back allowed over the border, no matter what. 

Then a few weeks later, an outbreak in the city - Katolis. It happened to be when Callum and I were visiting his family in their home - in the centre of the city. 

Ezran persuaded us that it wouldn’t be too bad, that we wouldn’t be stuck here if we stayed our last day. 

Well, he was wrong. 

We stayed the night, testing boomed, over 500 cases were found in 8 hours, and Harrow had to declare a state of emergency. Closing the city off and trapping everyone in the capital for at least 6 weeks. 

Everything closed except for the rare hotel for travellers - but to not waste space, Harrow offered for us to stay in his home during the lockdown. 

We accepted. And now... I’m stuck with Ez, Sarai and Harrow for 6 weeks. 

Joy.

_ 2 weeks into lockdown _

“I’m going for a run.” I announced, tugging on some workout shoes. “Callum, do you wanna come with?” 

“Absolutely.” He said, quickly going to our room to change into acceptable clothes for the fast pace he knew I was going to go. 

“Have fun!” Ezran called from the kitchen around his third PB&J sandwich of the day. 

I opened the front door, ready to start running, when I heard a shout. 

“Rayla!” Callum yelled, and I stopped in my tracks. 

“I forgot my mask, didn’t I.” I grumbled, storming back into the house. 

“Uh... yeah. You did.” Callum sounded a little nervous - he always was when I was in one of these moods. 

Stupid quarantine. I needed to go outside and stretch, and see some friends, and go back to my own apartment and relax! But I couldn’t do any of those things! 

So I more often than not, I was moody, and snappy, and tended to growl at people. 

I hated that Callum had to be cautious around me, like I was a caged tiger. 

That particular thought just fouled my mood even further, and I snatched my stupid face mask off the shelf and shoved it in the pocket of my leggings.

I wasted no time in getting out of that stuffy house and into a controlled sprint, not caring if Callum could keep up or not. 

I only had an hour, and I  _ would _ enjoy it. 

I went around the block twice, then I headed into the park. The sight of people wearing masks made me curse and pull out mine, tugging it on quickly. 

Stupid virus. 

I walked to the pond in the centre of the lake and walked a few laps around it, admiring the ancient trees and bursting flowers. 

Because of  _ course _ a virus would only barge into our lives in the most beautiful season of the year. 

I saw the funny looks I was getting from a few of the other humans - I was one of the only elves here, and my pale skin, white hair and horns made me stick out that much more. 

I sighed and sat on a rock that jutted out over the pond. I crossed my legs and stared out into the murky water,relishing the occasional flash of a fish’s golden scales. 

“Hey, miss, you can’t sit here.” A gruff voice told me, and I slumped over. “Or actually, anywhere.” He added after thinking for a moment. 

“Yeah, I know, I know.” I grumbled, getting up to glare at the man who interrupted my break. He was an inch shorter than me, but sturdy and had large, strong hands. His scowl was hidden beneath a white mask with crimson patterns adorning it - a bold fashion statement that he seemed to pull off. 

“Hey, you know the rules. Don’t take that tone with me.” He frowned. 

“Okay. I’m sorry.” I muttered, looking away. I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t be snippy with a stranger who was in the same position as me. 

He sighed, and his voice softened. “It’s okay. It’s a tough time, and I know that you’re just trying your best. Like the rest of us.”

I nodded. 

“Say, you’re a bit young to be over the border.” He pointed out, before motioning for me to walk with him. “Here for the college?”

I smiled - before I realised that he wouldn’t be able to see that. “Yeah. Me and my boyfriend came here to visit his family, and then... King Harrow issued the lockdown.”

I could see the sympathy in his eyes. “Did you at least get a hotel room for the two of you?”

I laughed. “Nope. My boyfriends’ family offered to let us stay with them, and we wanted to let someone who needed it get a room. So I’m staying with his mother, father and younger brother.”

The man chuckled. “Poor thing. I can see why you come out here.”

I looked up and saw Callum running over, breathless and red. 

“Ah, here comes  _ boyfriend _ .” I said, grinning as Callum finally caught up to us and slipped his mask on. 

“Barius! It’s good to see you!” Callum exclaimed, holding out his elbow. 

The man - Barius - sighed, then tapped Callum’s elbow with his own. 

“I see you found yourself another girl.” Barius observed as Callum walked alongside me. 

He hesitated, his way of asking permission - oh, that’s right, I wasn’t so happy when I last saw him - so I grabbed his hand happily and squeezed it once. 

Callum laughed and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. “I guess so.”

I rolled my eyes. “What do you mean ‘I guess’? You don’t sound so sure.” I accused, nudging his arm with my elbow. 

Barius laughed, loud and hearty. “A spitfire as well.”

Callum pulled down his mask for half a second to kiss my hair, and I was glad my mask hid the blush that was surely dusting my cheeks. 

“So that means that you are staying with the king, queen and crown prince then, Miss...?” Barius trailed off, and I realised he didn’t even know my name. 

“Rayla. Just Rayla is fine.” I told him. “And yes, I am staying with them.”

Barius nodded. “Well, Rayla, you can come to my bakery anytime. At the central plaza, it’s a small shop inside the store. It’s still open, so feel free to pop around and try a jelly tart or two. Something to get you through the lockdown.”

“Thank you Barius. I’ll be sure to come around soon.” I smiled at him, and we parted ways. 

“You seem to be in a better mood.” Callum commented, and I nodded. 

“We should go to his bakery tomorrow.” I murmured, and Callum grinned from under his mask. 

“Absolutely. It’s about time you tried a jelly tart anyway.”

_ Three weeks into lockdown _

“I’ll be right back. Just need to get some frozen vegetables.” Callum said, squeezing my hand before ducking away to the cold food section. 

“Hey you! I’ll pay you twenty bucks for that pack of toilet paper!” I heard a shout, and I turned to see a short lady yelling out to me. 

“Sorry, but I really need this pack.” I apologised, and tried to make my escape. I had seen and heard too many stories of fights over something as mundane as toilet paper, and I was not anxious to see one, let alone be a participant. 

Thankfully, the lady only scowled and then she wheeled her trolley away. 

I sighed a breath of relief and went back to my list. 

_ Swirly pasta, check.  _

_ Ketchup, check.  _

_ 3 packs of instant noodles, check.  _

_ Flour, che- _

“Hey!” I yelled as someone snatched the toilet paper out of my trolley. 

It was the lady from before. 

“Get back here! Give me back my- argh!” I shouted, sprinting down the aisle after her. 

She was fast, but not  _ that _ fast. I soon caught up to her and yanked the pack out of her hands, and I made my retreat when I saw the murder in her eyes. 

“ _ Staff _ ! This  _ elf _ just  _ attacked _ me!” She screamed, and I growled under my breath and stopped backing away. 

“Excuse me, miss, but you’ll have to give her back the... the toilet paper.” The poor staff member, a guy about my age who looked like he did  _ not _ want to be here, informed me. His voice was quiet, especially so from under a mask. 

I sighed. “Look, she tried to buy it off me first. And then when I refused, she stole it first. I really need it back at home.”

“How many people are in  _ your _ house?!” The lady spat furiously. I could tell her face would be bright red if it weren’t for the extreme amount of makeup she had applied. 

“I have five people living with me.” I told her calmly. Calm was the best way to go, I had heard. Not necessarily for people like this lady - that just infuriated them further. But the staff members and public would see you as the rational and normal person. 

“I have six! Me, my husband and my four boys! Do you know how much toilet rolls we go through with _four_ _young_ _boys_?!” She yelled. 

I saw that she had no wedding ring, so I just decided to ignore her, turning to the staff member. You can’t deal with irrational people. “Look, I’m so sorry for the drama sir. I just took the pack off the shelf.”

The lady swelled up with fury. “Ex _ cuse _ me!  _ I _ took that pack off the shelf! The elf is  _ lying _ !” The lady had ripped her mask off just to scream louder, but I didn’t even flinch. 

By now we had quite the audience of twenty people, all of them forgoing the social distancing rules. Oh well. At least they were wearing masks. 

“I’m sorry miss, but you’ll have to put the mask back on.” The staff member said calmly. 

“You can’t tell me what to do!” She yelled back, and I could see the spray of saliva that was propelled at the man with every furious word. “This is a free kingdom!”

“I will have to escort you out of the store, and you would not get the toilet paper.” The man said, dabbing at his face with his apron, and the lady reluctantly pulled her mask back up. 

“Would you like me to bring up the security camera footage?” The man asked. 

I expected the lady to back down, but she _absolutely_ _did_ _not_. “Yes! Then we’ll see that this _elf_ is the villain here!”

“Could you stop calling her that? She’s a person, just like the rest of us!” Someone yelled from the crowd around us, and others murmured their agreement. 

“What?! She is an elf! Just look at her!” The lady yelled, pointing at me. 

“Yeah. I’m an elf. But if I called you  _ human _ the way you are calling me  _ elf _ , I don’t think that you would appreciate it.” I pointed out. To my delight, some of the crowd was nodding. 

“I don’t think I would  _ care _ ! I’m a human - so what?” The lady shot back, and I sighed. 

The staff member went into the staff room to check the footage. I wasn’t even worried - it would clearly show me grabbing the pack, and then a few minutes later the lady stealing it off me. 

Sure enough, when the guy came out of the room, he informed us that I was indeed the person who took the toilet paper first. 

This sent the lady into a flying rage, pulling off her mask and screaming at the man that the footage was tampered with and that she was going to sure him. 

She eventually was forced to leave on the threat of police showing up, and I was finally able to continue my shopping trip. 

“Oh crap.” I muttered, running back to where I left my trolley. My phone, wallet, license - all of it was probably stolen. 

But when I got to the trolley, there was an elderly man and a young boy standing by it. 

“I presume this is your trolley?” The man asked, and I nodded. 

“We kept it safe for you!” The boy grinned - so young that he didn’t have to wear a mask. Ten years old at most. 

I smiled back from under my mask at them both. 

The boy held out his elbow - and I happily bumped it with my own, causing him to grin even wider. 

“Thank you both so much.” I said, and the old man waved a hand at me. 

“Oh, it’s nothing. You were tied up with that rude lady - it was the least we could do.”

“Pa! Can I get a chocolate?” The boy asked, tugging on his sleeve. 

“I suppose so.” The man said happily, reaching for a bar. 

I kneeled down in front of the boy and pressed some coins into his hand. “It’s on me.” I insisted, before getting up, flashing them a thumbs up, and continuing on my trip. 

“Hey! I heard some commotion - what happened?” Callum asked, appearing from around the corner with the bags of frozen food. 

I laughed. “Wow, have I got a story for you.”

_ Four weeks into lockdown _

“Hey, you awake?” I heard a whisper. 

“I am now.” I whispered back, yawning and pushing myself into Callum’s chest a bit more. 

“Do you have any plans for today?” Callum asked, cuddling me tighter. 

“Mmmmm... no, not that I can think of.” I murmured back. 

“Well, you know that Netflix just got a whole bunch of new seasons added to some shows.” He nuzzled my ear. “Maybe we could just chill out and binge some.”

I sighed happily. “Alright. Netflix it is.”

We spent the whole day on the floor, huddled up in blankets, in the second living room. Cuddling and watching a chunk of a comedy cop show with 7 seasons. Eating popcorn and sweets. 

I had never felt so lazy in my life, but maybe it wasn’t so bad. 

But at eleven that night, when we finally turned the tv off, I poked Callum’s chest. 

“You know we will have to work off all of this junk food tomorrow.” I teased, and he groaned. 

“Do we have to?” He whined, half asleep. 

“If you wanna be able to keep up with me in runs, then yes.” I grinned, leaning into his warmth. 

“Fine.” He agreed, and I hummed happily. Another excuse to spend a few hours alone with Callum. 

_ 5 weeks into lockdown _

“Ah, welcome again Rayla and Callum!” Barius exclaimed joyously. 

“Hey Barius.” Callum nodded his greeting, and I waved. 

“What can I get you?” The baker asked, gesturing towards his impressive display of pastries. 

“Ten jelly tarts please - raspberry flavour.” Callum ordered, and Barius grinned. 

“Two for each of the family?” He asked as he scooped out the jelly tarts. 

“Not quite. Six for Ray and four for us.” I could tell Callum was grinning under his stupid mask as I elbowed him. 

Barius chuckled. “That’ll be fifteen dollars.”

My eyes widened - that was a lot cheaper than usual. Usually it was three dollars a tart, twenty for ten. 

The baker noticed it, and he winked. “Discount for my favourite customers.”

We handed him the cash and took the box of treats. We walked to the nearest coffee shop and grabbed some, happily taking our masks off to sip at the delicious drink. 

“We should spend more time in Katolis during our breaks.” I said, and Callum smiled. 

“You like it even while the whole place is in lockdown?” He asked, and I nodded. 

“It’s a beautiful place with nice people. Well, mostly nice people.” I amended, thinking back to the shopping trip. 

“Yeah. It’s a great place. Maybe next break, when everything has cleared up with the virus, we can explore it for a bit.” He suggested. 

“Sounds great.” I grinned back at him, kissing him quickly. 

_ Six weeks into lockdown _

Today was a bad day. 

I felt isolated from my friends, trapped from being stuck in a house, and generally pissed off at everyone for no good reason. 

“Ray?” I heard a familiar voice ask tentatively. 

“Just leave me alone.” I growled, curling up in the sheets. 

A sigh. 

“If that’s what you want.”

I curled up tighter. I wanted to see my friends. The ones trapped back at the college. I wanted to see my family, make sure that they were okay. And now there were rumours that the lockdown was going to last another six weeks. 

I really liked Ez, Sarai and Harrow - but I couldn’t deal with being cooped up with them for any longer. 

My hands fisted in the sheets as I forced myself to stop thinking about it - maybe I could go on a run. 

No, I had already used my hour of exercise today. I wasn’t allowed to go out again. 

I controlled my breathing, keeping it even and steady. I couldn’t break down. 

_ Nexus _ , it just seemed so  _ stupid _ ! I was about to start crying about not seeing my friends?! I had Callum! I wasn’t totally isolated!

“Hey.”

I hugged the pillow in my arms tighter. “I told you to leave me alone.”

“But do you want me to?” Callum asked, sitting down next to me. 

I buried my face into the soft pillow. “No.”

A hand at my shoulder. When I didn’t growl or snarl, Callum tugged me into his lap. 

“Yeah. I know. I miss everyone too. And it sucks here when we’re so far away.” He reassured me. 

“I want to go home.” I said, like a child. 

“I’m not supposed to tell anyone... but the quarantine will end this week. The cases are down enough to let us go.” Callum murmured, and I gripped his shoulders and pulled back to see his face. 

“Really?” I asked, elated. 

“Yep.” Callum grinned back. 

I laughed into his shoulder, hugging him tightly. 

“Finally.” I mumbled. 

“We’re going home in two days.” Callum said, to himself as well as me. 

“No offence, but I can’t wait to get out of here and away from your family.” I said. 

Callum chuckled. “None taken. I’m the same, to be honest.”

I sighed. “I’m so done with quarantine.”

“Me too.” Callum agreed. “At least some good came out of it though.”

“Like what?” I asked - I couldn’t think of a single positive. 

“You tried jelly tarts. We finished five - no, six - shows that were on our list. We went to the Katolin Gardens, and you met Barius.” He paused, then waggled his eyebrows. “We had plenty of  _ bonding _ time.”

I giggled at that last one. “Alright, that’s a good list.”

“See? Optimism for the win!” He grinned and I laughed again. 

“Okay, okay. It hasn’t been so bad.” I agreed. 

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry I haven’t replied to comments yet :(  
> I’ve been really busy lately, but I’m taking two weeks off starting Friday so I’ll be definitely finishing s2 of ‘The Princess and the Skywing’ (might even be done before then)  
> And as always, I would love feedback and comments!  
> Stay safe out there :)


End file.
